Bromley 0-2 Woking

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Make that no wins in six league games. The rumbling of discontent continues. 

What looked like a bright start to the season in mid-October has taken a turn for the worse following Bromley’s surprise FA Cup defeat to Hereford. 

Is it time to be concerned, or is this just the natural ebb and flow of a football season? You win some, you lose some, but it all hinges on whether you can find form at the right time. 

As ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s terrible home defeat to Woking.

Have a read and let me know your thoughts in the comments below

The Line up vs Woking

The Good

I thought long and hard about this but let's be honest… There was nothing good about this performance. It was flat on and off the field and handed the initiative to Woking.

Not one player can come out of the game with their reputation enhanced. 

The Bad

Do we have a midfield problem? Do we have a creativity problem? Or is it both? 

Against Woking, the worst of our midfield play was on show. Too often we were ‘safe’ in possession and rarely incisive. Billy Bingham, James Vennings, and Ethan Coleman are good players individually. But is there any set up, particularly at home, that would allow all three to play together and be a source of creativity? 

None of them are goal scorers, and can we really say that any of them regularly play through the lines and impose their will on the game? This is not to be taken the wrong way. Bingham and Vennings, in particular, are technically gifted players and help to set the tempo. But I would say there is a subtle difference between that and their forward impetus.

This can be overlooked when Corey Whitely is in good form and driving with the ball on the half turn. But if Corey’s having a bad game, as he did on Wednesday night, then what is the plan?

This season, when we’ve been at our best, you had a sense that goals might come from anywhere. Against Woking, however, they looked like they may never come. 

If Robin Stanton Gleaves intends to hand Andy Woodman some money in January, then a goalscoring/creative/box-to-box number 8 would be first on my wish list. No pressure!

Alternatively when do we give Louis Dennis a run of games to show why he is a fans favourite?

That said, it would be silly to look at the centre of Bromley’s midfield area as the sole issue. 

Andy Woodman mentioned it at full-time and I think he’s right: There has to be some questions asked about our end product in wide areas. This will read like I am being hypercritical of Harry Forster and Reece Hannam/Charles Clayden, but if we persist with a team shape that relies on the wing backs as creative outlets then the end product has to improve.

Getting the ball into promising areas out wide isn’t the problem, but making something of it is.

Some have mentioned that Forster isn’t a wing back. That’s not the main issue. The main issue is the end product. Whether Harry is deployed as a wing back or an auxiliary winger, that part of his game needs to improve.

The Ugly

Playing one up front worked against Notts County. I wasn’t at the game but from the extended highlights it was clear that Coleman, Forster, and Whitely were able to prosper in the pockets of space behind Cheek.

That set up made sense away at top of the table Notts, who were looking to push on and impose their game, but at home against Woking it looked overly negative.

Our setup handed the initiative to an in-form Woking. As a result, we never got to grips with the game and rarely made life difficult for them. 

We were passive in possession and were frequently found passing for the sake of passing rather than passing with purpose. 

At half time I tweeted the following…..

Machel St Patrick Hewitt @MashStPaddy

Half time Bromley 0-0 Woking Nothing doing at Hayes Lane. Padraig Amond has had two good chances but Tom Smith produced a great save to deny him whilst the crossbar came to the rescue for the other. Bromley may want to bring on a second striker at some point.

To me it was obvious we needed a second striker on the pitch as we weren’t really threatening the Woking back line. That we only responded after going a goal down was purely reactive.

It was noticeable that the few opportunities we did create came after that introduction: Cheek’s header and effort from the edge of the box and Marriott’s follow up, for example.

All in all, we got it wrong tactically and only heeded the warnings once the game was already beyond us. 

Another issue worth highlighting, and that I feel teams have exploited in the last month, is our lack of pace at the back. This has become a telling weakness.

Are we playing too high a line? Or are too many players just out of form at this specific moment.

The second goal was a case in point. A simple direct channel ball was enough for Reece Grego-Cox to get in behind Chris Bush and square for Rhys Browne to finish. Let's be honest, this was primary school defending. You can't expect to defend like that in the National League and not get found out.

It all speaks to the same thing Woodman reiterated at full time: It is high time Bromley get back to basics. If you can't do the pretty stuff and find the end product when it matters, then focus on grafting and playing percentages and second balls.

This is the basic DNA of 90% of the National League and right now Bromley aren’t doing it consistently. Earn the right to win. No team will hand it to you. 

Match ratings

Tom Smith (7)

Harry Forster (5)

Omar Sowunmi (6)

Byron Webster (5)

Chris Bush (5)

Reece Hannam (6)

Billy Bingham (5)

James Vennings (5)

Ethan Coleman (5)

Corey Whitely (5)

Michael Cheek (6)

Subs:

Charles Clayden (on 68 for Harry Forster) 5

Adam Marriott (on 61 for Reece Hannam) 6

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